Defender sees the big picture

While the goalie may be the last line of defense in soccer, the defender in front of him can determine what opportunities the goalie faces during a game.

The keeper can get a good look at a distant shot, or take on a pointblank shot through traffic. The defender can make a quick clearing pass or give the ball away, creating another scoring opportunity.

Cheney High School's Connor Fuhrman makes sure his goalie deals with the former scenarios rather than the latter.

"He's a tough competitor in the back," said his coach, Steve Davis.

"He's willing to step in and step things up when the competition gets tough.

"He has a sense of seeing the game, but seeing beyond the game. In the emotional ups and downs of the competition, he has the sense of stabilizing things.

"He sees the bigger picture a lot of times."

It is a quality of leadership that comes naturally to Fuhrman. The senior is a three-sport letter winner, guiding the Blackhawks football team as their starting quarterback in the fall and playing at the guard spot on the Cheney basketball squad during the winter.

Fuhrman is captain of the soccer team this spring, continuing to lead on and off the playing field.

"I look at my role as a way to keep people together," said Fuhrman. "If someone's got a problem with someone else, just come talk to me, and hopefully I can get it sorted out.

"If they have problems with what's going on in the team, we can take it to coach and let them handle it ... kind of like being an interpreter."

Fuhrman can get by opponents as slickly as a United Nations diplomat can negotiate, lending stability to a Cheney squad trying to play its way to the top of the Greater Spokane League.

"He came in and played stopper for us and played right back for us for a while," Davis said. "He kept developing.

"His vision of the game was always good. He sees the field real well, and that's certainly one thing he brings us to the back.

"He saw the one-touch and two-touch ball. That was one of his strengths. He developed a better sense of touch throughout his play."

Fuhrman's vision can be easily tied to his duties as the Blackhawks quarterback the past three years, a learning experience that didn't come easily at first.

"It's been a long road," Fuhrman said. "I didn't know anything about football until seventh grade. It was tough.

"You had to go home and study the playbook for hours just to get everything down. You try to know everyone's position, so when they come and ask you what they're supposed to do, you'll know."

Fuhrman has taken that knowledge and applied it to every sport during his journey through high school. But his athletic career at Cheney nearly came to an end last season during a football game against Mt. Spokane.

"My most memorable moment is when I messed up my knee last year," said Fuhrman. "I tore every ligament and broke it. (I remember) all my friends and how great they were - parents, the teachers and coaches - and how supportive they were. It was like I never missed a beat."

It led to a rehabilitation that put Fuhrman back on the soccer pitch last spring.

"He was injured and had to play with a brace last year," said Davis. "He rehabbed intensively and was able to play for us last year, just based on his discipline and his desire to get back in there and get in the game.

"His mobility was limited, but he's back up to pace this year."

It's that kind of dedication and leadership by example Fuhrman learned from his father and mother, Mike and Sue, both of whom graduated from Cheney.

"They've taught me to see the bigger picture in life," said Fuhrman, who hopes to become an architect after graduation.

"When I'm out on the field, I see more than the game. I see people's abilities and what they can do. I see the big picture.

"They've been everything. I've had coaches and teachers who have been great influences, but without my parents I don't think I would have been in sports in high school. "There's always been one of them at a game of mine since I was 4."

"He has a sense of humor and a maturity of putting things into perspective you usually don`t find in kids his age," said Davis. "He's willing to step up and make the big play when it's needed in the back.

"The kids respect that. You'll always miss a kid that's made big contributions to your program, and his passion for the game. He'll be hard to replace."

Copyright 2004 Cowles Publishing Company
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